Photokina 2018 Rumour Mill

With Photokina just around the corner it’s time to start dreaming about your next big purchase as the biggest names in the camera industry get set to announce their latest releases.

The world’s largest photography trade fair will take place in Cologne, Germany from the 26th to 29th of September. And as always, the rumour mill is in overdrive about what may be released. Here are the best rumours floating around the internet:

Canon

Full Frame Mirrorless Camera?

According to CanonRumours.com – their sources say a full frame mirrorless camera is being developed, with the company now handing out prototypes to pro photographers for testing. One of the website’s sources said Canon is being “quite open about the product development with professionals because they want to be sure to “get it right’.” The biggest question mark lies over the lens mount. Will they keep the popular EF mount or create a new type of mount to take advantage of the shorter flange distance (the space between the lens and the sensor which impacts focusing)?

New Canon EOS 5D Mark X?

Techradar.com is predicting Canon could launch a EOS 5D X (30.4MP) to rival Nikon’s D850 (45.4MP) and Sony’s Alpha A7R III (42.2MP), which are similarly priced but offer more pixels. TechRadar speculates Canon could launch a new 5D X with an improved 50MP full-frame sensor that was used in the EOS 5DS with a broader ISO range.

Sony

Alpha A7S II Update?

According to Nokishita Camera and SonyRumours.co, we can expect a new camera to be released around Photokina, with Sony registering a new camera code named “WW 213188”. The list of rumoured potential models include the A7S III, A6700, A77 III and the RX1R III.

TechRadar is hedging its bets on the more video focused Alpha A7S II: “We reckon it’ll share the same updated body as we’ve seen with both the A7R III and A7 III, which means it’ll take on a number of handling refinements, including a dedicated AF joystick, AF-On button and touchscreen interface.”

The biggest changes are expected to be with the camera’s video performance to compete with Panasonic’s Lumix GH5 and GH5S. In particular, many videographers would hope the new Alpha A7S III would record 4:2:2 10-bit video to allow for much better colour grading performance.

Fujifilm

New cameras around the corner

Fujiaddict.com believes we could see three new cameras being released in the run up to Photonika: the Fujifilm XF10, Fujifilm X-T3, and Fujifilm GFX 50R. Upgrades are expected to the sensors and processing engines, along with an improved AF system.

TechRadar is also predicting a new entry-level mirrorless camera from Fujifilm with a 24MP APS-C format sensor, built-in electronic veiwfinder and 4K video.

Eammon Atkinson